Nissan to Supply Cargo Vans to General Motors

Nissan wants to supply cargo vans to GM to be sold as Chevrolet brand vehicles in Canada and the US.

This would be the first such project for Nissan and GM. The US automaker will sell vehicles based on Nissan’s NV200 light truck beginning with 2014, and details and pricing for the GM version, which will be sold as the Chevrolet City Express, will be offered soon.

“Our fleet customers have asked us for an entry in the commercial small van segment, so this addition to the Chevrolet portfolio will strengthen our position with fleets and our commercial customers,” Ed Peper, GM’s U.S. vice president of fleet and commercial sales, said in the statement.

Although GM has worked with Nissan’s partner Renault in Europe, the US automaker has never had such a project for Canada and the US. GM agreed to resort to Nissan’s vans as Ford’s Transit Connect van deliveries in the US continue to increase. Last year sales of the Transit Connect were up 10% to 35,216 units and this year through April sales increased 28% to 13,205 units.

In March, GM and Ford said that sales in the US are still on pace to reach the best year since 2007. As the US vehicles are the oldest on average in the region’s history, customers will continue to replace their aging cars by fuel-efficient models fitted with better technology features.